Statement on Samford University’s Decision to Deny OUTLaw Formal Recognition as an Official Student Body Organization
October 24, 2022
OUTLaw is incredibly disheartened over Samford University’s decision not to formally recognize our group as an official student organization. We represent over fifty LGBTQ+ and allied students at Cumberland School of Law who simply wish to participate in the same activities, events, and traditions that are enjoyed by countless other identity- based organizations fortunate enough to be recognized by the University. OUTLaw’s leadership learned of the University’s decision last week during a meeting with President Beck Taylor, where he made it clear that simply allowing LGBTQ+ law students the freedom of fellowship—to congregate and associate with one another in the same way that so many other students are able to do based on their shared identities—would run contrary to Samford’s most central tenets, values, and beliefs as a Christian, faith-based educational institution. President Taylor shared his fear that allowing OUTLaw to exist, participate, and be seen on campus would invite future opportunities for LGBTQ+ individuals to “advocate for a larger agenda” that the University is “simply not willing” to allow.
OUTLaw will continue to fight for its right to become an official student organization at Samford University. If by “agenda,” President Taylor means that we intend to let the LGBTQ+ population at Samford know that they are welcomed and loved just the way they are, then by all means his accusation are well-founded. But in contrast to the imaginary “harm” contemplated by President Taylor, the LGBTQ+ students at Samford’s law school—in addition to those in its undergraduate program—must now deal with the real and immediate harms posed by the anti-LGBTQ+ stigma which the University’s position endorses.
OUTLaw is denied equality to other identity- and belief-based groups on campus in practical ways, too. We are forbidden from identifying with Samford by name, which also means we cannot include the name of our own law school in our organization’s name, on our social media pages, or any of our merchandise, apparel, or other marketing materials. OUTLaw cannot take advantage of any university resources available to other groups, which means that we cannot even reserve a room in the library for meetings or host a table on the quad. OUTLaw’s members cannot participate in Law Week as a group, we cannot sponsor a Bar Review, nor can we invite or host guest speakers on campus. Our members cannot even list “Cumberland OUTLaw” on our resumes. Despite attending the same institution, paying the same amount of tuition, and being accepted to the school despite the administration’s knowledge of our LGBTQ+ identities, the LGBTQ+ students at Cumberland cannot enjoy the same privileges, benefits, and opportunities enjoyed by our non-LGBTQ+ peers without the University’s formal recognition of OUTLaw.
While OUTLaw respects the administration’s sincerely held religious convictions, we note that many of our members are faithful followers of Christ, too. We speak in love when we say that Samford’s refusal to recognize our organization based solely upon its LGBTQ+ identity only sends harmful messages about LGBTQ+ people—that LGBTQ+ people are inferior to our non-LGBTQ+ peers by virtue of our design, that we should be ashamed of who we are because of who we love, or that we are anything less than fearfully and wonderfully made. The endorsement of these attitudes by well-respected leaders at faith- based institutions is precisely why LGBTQ+ people are 2.5 times more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and substance abuse when compared to heterosexuals. It is why 42% of LGBTQ+ youth have considered suicide. And it is especially why LGBTQ+ people struggle to find a home at the very churches that claim to love and welcome them. We call on the University to consider these statistics in light of Matthew 7:18, which tells us, “A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit[.]” Regardless, we will not buy into the lie that this administration is trying to sell us—the lie that one can claim to love their neighbor while continuing to facilitate and espouse the very sort of policies and beliefs that lead to their destruction. It is not enough that the University vows to faithfully condemn hateful speech or acts directed at its LGBTQ+ students. The University must renounce its anti-LGBTQ+ position and welcome OUTLaw among its student body. It must also do the same for our undergraduate counterpart, PRISM, whose members have likewise been detrimentally impacted by the University’s decision.
To our fellow students, faculty, alumni, and members of the broader Samford family who have stood as allies to the LGBTQ+ community and supported us in our efforts, we are incredibly thankful for all of the love and encouragement you’ve given us throughout this process. Now, we need you all to tell the University, its decision-makers, and its financial supporters that this decision is not only offensive to Samford’s LGBTQ+ student population, but it is morally reprehensible to you as well. We encourage everyone to speak out against this harmful policy of exclusion and engage in conversations among your peers, in your classrooms, at your places of worship, and within your own social and professional circles that lie beyond Samford’s campus. Please sign our petition with a message for the University at the link below and follow us on social media for more information on how you can help OUTLaw become an official part of the Samford University student body. We cannot do this without you.
Sincerely,
OUTLaw
Instagram: recognize_OUTLaw
Contact: recognize.outlaw@gmail.com